Locking Shoe Fastening Device and Method

ABSTRACT

A locking system for quick tying laces. Locking system includes a quick connect connector that is connected between the bottom portion of the laces and the top portion of the laces where a tension releasing system is located. The tension releasing system can release and retain the tension on laces after the shoe has been put on, the top portion of the laces which has the tension releasing system, can be secured to the bottom portion of the laces to prevent dangling of laces.

This application claims priority from provisional No. 63/002,931, filedMar. 31, 2020, the entire contents of which are herewith incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

A conventional way of securing a shoe to a foot is via shoelaces. Theshoelaces typically wind through a series of openings or “eyelets” inthe shoe, and are pulled tight and tied in order to hold the shoe on thefoot.

There are shoes without laces which use an elastic system to hold theshoe on the foot.

In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,548 (herein, 548) describes a system ofusing an elastic shoelace, with a spring-loaded fastener to hold theshoelaces into place.

The elastic lace system such as described in 548 results in the frontpart of the laces left typically to dangle, which can cause a trippingor entanglement hazard during activities such as hiking, sports activityand hunting. When used for cycling, the laces can become entangled inthe pedals.

SUMMARY

The inventor recognized a number of drawbacks with laces or selfsecuring laces of the type described by 548. The inventor recognizedthat because the fastener is not secured to the shoelaces, there is apossibility of the fastener coming free from the laces, making themunusable. In addition, there has been a dangling part even after thelaces are secured.

According to the present application, the top part of the laces has atension providing system, attached to the top of the laces, which in afirst position maintains the tension on the laces and in the secondposition releases the tension on the laces thus enabling the laces to betightened and loosened. The tension providing system can be a fastenerbutton, held to a top portion of the laces, enabling tightening thelaces by pressing the fastener button, to release pressure or tension onthe laces, and then pulling the laces tight. At that point the fastenerbutton is released, thus locking the tension.

The fastener button is connected to one side of a locking mechanism.

The other side of the locking mechanism is connected to the bottom partof the laces. Hence, the fastener button, and locking mechanism, is heldtight once fully connected. This provides a secure and aestheticallyfinished look.

Embodiments describe a retaining part that is secured to the laces atboth the top and the bottom of the lacing structures, and where the topand the bottom interlock to avoid dangling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects will now be described in detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings which show aspects of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a front on view of an embodiment of the lace holdingsystem, showing the system unconnected with the lace top part notconnected to the lace bottom part;

FIG. 2 shows a front on view with the lace holding system connected;

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment where two different shoes are connectedtogether by their lace system, to enable easier transport; and

FIG. 4 shows the embodiment of the lace holding system on a bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application describes a system for securing footwear andlaces in a way that is wholly different from the prior art. Anembodiment uses a shoelace, a cord fastener on the shoelace, and alocking mechanism.

In an embodiment, the locking mechanism as described herein has aseparate male 100 and female 110 quick release locking mechanism asshown with reference to the drawings. One side of the quick release isattached to the top portion of the laces, and the other side is attachedto the bottom portion of the laces.

The quick connect/release connector can be any connector that allows atool-less connect and disconnect between two parts. The two parts arereferred to herein as being male and female parts, however it should beunderstood that any connection between any 2 parts can be used in thisway. Preferably, the connector is one which makes a audible sound, e.g.a “click” when connected.

In the illustrated embodiment, the male side 100 of the quick releasemechanism is held to the top portion of the laces, and the female side110 is held to the bottom portion of the laces. Of course, those ofordinary skill in the art certainly recognize that this can be reversed.

In an embodiment, the shoe 99 is laced as normal with elastic laces 105,with the laces 105 being laced through the eyelets as conventional. Abottom portion of the laces extend between the left side of the shoe andthe right side of the shoe. The laces 105 then pass through the eyelets,between left side of the shoe and right side of the shoe, ending at thetop portion of the shoe where the top portion 109 of the laces.

The laces pass through eyelets 102 in the shoe 99, as conventional asthey are threaded from the bottom portion 101 to the top portion, 109.

The bottom most portion 101 of the laces is connected to the femaleportion 110 of a quick connect locking mechanism. In the embodiment,that bottom most portion 101 of the laces passes through a retaininghole 111 in the bottom of the female quick connect portion 110.

The top portion 109 of the laces 105 are held to one another through apush cord fastener button 130 that provides tension against the laces.The fastener 130 is normally holding tension to the laces, keeping themtight. When the button 130 is pressed, the tension is released enablingthe laces 105 to be tightened and loosened relative to the push cordfastener button 130.

The push cord fastener button 130 is connected to the male end 100 ofthe locking mechanism.

The push cord fastener button 130 can be pressed to release tension onthe elastic laces 105 while sliding the fastener.

Once the shoe is on the user's foot, the button is released, and tensionis restored.

The male portion 100 of the locking mechanism (attached to the topportion of the laces), is then connected to the female portion 110 ofthe locking portion (attached to the bottom portion of the laces), asshown in FIG. 2. This holds together the laces and avoids the risk ofany part of the slack in the laces dangling. This also provides anadditional closure mechanism.

In operation, the laces are loosened by:

first separating the male portion 100 of the quick connect connectorfrom female 110 portion.

Then, the user holds the male portion 100 of the locking mechanism andpushes the push fastener button 130 to release the tension on the laces.The push cord fastener 130 is then slid towards the male portion 100, toprovide more slack in the laces. Then the user can insert their footinto the shoe.

Correspondingly and conversely, once the user's foot is in the shoe, andin order to tighten the laces, the user pulls up on the male portion 100of the locking mechanism, presses the button on the push cord fastener130 to release tension on the elastic laces, while sliding the fastenertoward the foot, thus tightening the laces and securing the footwear inplace. The button is released to again lock the tension.

Once tightened, the male portion 100 of the locking mechanism isinserted into the female portion 110, until the quick connect portionmakes a click sound. The locking mechanism is then locked and secured,as shown in FIG. 2, and there are no open and dangling portions.

The above has described one version of the system, but it should beunderstood that other versions can also be provided. Different kind ofclasps which can be used, including a clasp option that connects to thefemale portion of the locking mechanism in order to grasp the lace, orto hold other accessories, such as a key ring.

While this only shows one version of the fastener, a larger version canbe used for people with reduced dexterity or for the elderly or asmaller version for children

In an embodiment, the fastener and/or locking mechanism can beretrofitted with a compass.

This fastening system can be implemented to close other containers, suchas a backpack, duffle bag etc.

Regular shoelace can be interchanged with the elastic shoelaces of anembodiment.

Multiple shapes/colors/material cord fasteners can be interchanged.

This system greatly reduces trip hazards. It also greatly reducesentanglement with foreign objects. It also eliminates any possibility offorming knots in the laces.

This system provides a single point of grasping laces when securingfootwear, resulting in increased ergonomics.

This provides a fastener stopper, securing the fastener to the laces.

This provides the ability to secure keyring to footwear with or withoutclasp on female portion of the Locking mechanism.

This also provides an Aesthetically neat finished look.

Another embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, uses these clips to clip and lockthe left and right shoe together, using the fastening system, tofacilitate transportation. In FIG. 3, the left shoe 300 has laces 305,connected to a male end 310 of the quick connect system. Normally,during wear, the male part 310 of the quick connect system is connectedto the female part 315 of the quick connect system. Similarly, the shoe325 has laces 330, with a male quick connect 335 and a female quickconnect 340. In order to allow transporting the shoes, however, the malequick connect 310 of the left shoe 300 is connected to the female quickconnect 340 of the right shoe 325; and analogously, the male quickconnect 335 of the right shoe 325 is connected to the female quickconnect 315 of the left shoe. This facilitates holding the shoestogether for transportation in this way using the same system.

In addition, the connections can be connected to other items. Forexample, the quick connects can connect to a bag, such as abackpack/duffle bag or item of clothing instead of connecting to oneanother, to allow carrying the shoes on the backpack/duffle bag orclothing.

The use of the tension device, which increases and decreases tension,along with a connection for the slack laces created by the increase anddecrease in tension can also be used on other devices, such as a bag.

FIG. 4 shows a bag 400 such as a backpack, which has laces 402. Thelaces 402 pass through eyelets 404 in the bag and are connected at thetop to a tension maintaining and releasing device 410. The tensiondevice has a button which is pressed to release tension on the laces 402and when the button is not pressed, maintains the tension on the laces402.

The lace ends 403 which have passed through the tension device 410terminate in a first side 421 of a quick connect connector. The otherside 422 of that quick connect connector is connected to the body of thebackpack. In this way, this holds the slack in the laces and providesthe secure an aesthetically finished look.

The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments isprovided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use thepresent invention. Various modifications to these exemplary embodimentswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown hereinbut is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principlesand novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe with a tying system, comprising a shoehaving laces, the laces having a bottom portion which extend betweenleft and right sides of the shoe; the laces passing between left side ofthe shoe and right side of the shoe, through eyelets of the shoe, fromthe bottom portion, to a top portion of the shoe; the laces beingtightened and loosened at the top portion of the shoe to respectivelytighten and loosen tension inside the shoe, a quick connect connector,which has a first portion and a second portion that snaps into the firstportion to hold between the first and second portions while connected,and to allow a tool-less disconnect of the first and second portions, toremove the first portion from the second portion; the first portion ofthe quick connect connector connected to the bottom portion of thelaces; the second portion of the quick connect connector connected tothe top portion of the laces; the quick connect connector configured toenable connecting the top portion of the laces to the bottom portion ofthe laces.
 2. The shoe system as in claim 1 further comprising a tensionproviding system, attached to the top of the laces, which in a firstposition maintains the tension on the laces and in the second positionreleases the tension on the laces thus enabling the laces to betightened and loosened.
 3. The shoe system as in claim 2, wherein thetension providing system is connected to the second portion of the quickconnect connector.
 4. The shoe tying system as in claim 3, wherein thetension providing system comprises a button that is pressed to releasethe tension, the button being spring-loaded to maintain the tension. 5.The shoe tying system as in claim 4, wherein the tension providingsystem is adjustable with the quick connect connector connected and isalso adjustable with the quick connect connector disconnected.
 6. Theshoe tying system as in claim 1 wherein the first portion of the quickconnect portion is a female portion and the second portion is a maleportion.
 7. The shoe tying system as in claim 1 where the laces areelastic laces.
 8. The system as in claim 4, wherein the button includesan accessory therein.
 9. The system as in claim 8, wherein the accessoryis a compass or a snap jewelry/button
 10. A method of tying and securingan item which has laces, comprising: attaching one side of the quickconnect connector to a bottom portion of the; at a top portion of thelaces, providing a tension varying device, which has a first portionthat holds tight the tension on the laces, and a second position thatallows loosening the laces by releasing tension on the laces; attachinga second side of the quick connect connector to the tension varyingdevice; loosensing the laces by releasing tension on the tension varyingdevice, and then re-tightening the laces, and re-establishing tension onthe tension varying device, and, securing the laces, by attaching thesecond side of the quick connect connector to the first side of thequick connect connector.
 11. The method as in claim 10, wherein thelaces are on shoes.
 12. The method as in claim 11, further comprisingattaching a first shoe to a second shoe by attaching the first side ofthe quick connect of the first shoe to a second side of the quickconnect connector of the second shoe and attaching the second side ofthe quick connect connector of the second shoe to the first side of thequick connect connector of the first shoe.
 13. The method as in claim10, wherein the first side of the quick connect connector is a femaleportion of the quick connect connector and the second side of the quickconnect connector is a male portion of the quick connect connector. 14.The Method as in claim 10, further comprising connecting one side of thequick connect connector to another quick connect connector that isattached to another device.
 15. The method as in claim 13, where anotherdevice is wearing apparel.
 16. The method as in claim 10, wherein thelaces are on a bag.